BCD takes NYC: Part One- We're People Who Know People

by Xani and Erin

Have you been wondering where your favorite food bloggers have been? Bet you have. We've be soooo busy these days: working, playing, (over) celebrating EP's birthday, dining out for Baltimore's Restaurant Week, and most recently, visiting the Big Apple! The good news is we've got LOTS of great blog content in the pipeline and it's headed your way over the coming days and weeks. Starting (right now!) with a post that's sure to make you drool with envy...

One of the main goals/purposes of this trip was to check out another Mario Batali restaurant. Xani had been to Mozza in LA, and EP went to Lupa on another trip to NYC so this time we were going for the big one: Babbo. Babbo is considered the crown jewel of Mario's restuarant empire; it is also notoriously difficult to get into. One must call for reservations exactly one month prior to the day you wish to dine there, at precisely 10am when the phones open. Then you must be prepared to dial and re-dial, and when you eventually get through, you STILL might not get in! But we had a secret weapon, a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy kind of deal, who hooked us up with a 6pm reservation for Friday night. We had been majorly excited for this meal all month!

So when we arrived in NYC we did a quick change at Lauren's (our lovely and gracious hostess for the weekend) office and then out into the big city. First, a cocktail at The Bubble Lounge -- a gorgeous champagne bar with a luxrious Morroccan vibe.

We love how NYC has a place devoted to anything and everything: a champagne bar, a risotto restaurant, a french fry place, a hummus place, etc. And of course we love champagne, so Bubbles was a perfect start to the evening. EP had a Bellini and Xani had a Champagne Cocktail and we soaked up the lovely atmosphere until it was Babbo time!

We arrived and met up with cousins Ann and Steven-- you may remember them from many of our LA posts, but they are currently staying in NYC and we were thrilled to have them join us for dinner! Thanks to our man on the inside (that's you Kerry!) we gave our name and were whisked up the grand staircase to a corner table in the gorgeous upstairs dining room. The space was homey and comfortable, but still very upscale. The giant skylight meant the room was nice and bright-- remember it was still only 6 o'clock! Steven pointed out that there was something very unusual going on: the place was packed with New Yorkers, eating dinner, at 6pm. This is very strange, indeed. But I guess when 6:00 (or earlier) is the only reservation you can get, and you absolutely must try this divine Italian food, even New Yorkers are willing to eat early...

We got ourselves situated and ordered a bottle of Prosecco (more bubbles!) to start, and out came a little treat from the kitchen, bruschetta with a chickpea topping-- just the kind of crunchy, flavorful thing to get your appetite going.

Then came the toughest part of the meal, deciding what to order! The menu is divided into three sections/courses: Antipasto, Primi and Secondi. Before the trip, Xani read approximately 500 chowhound posts and spoke to several people who had been to Babbo to get recommendations on exactly what to order, but even with all that info it was a tough decision. In the end we got four antipasti, three primi and three secondi (to leave room for dessert). Our waiter, who was all business at the beginning, seemed to loosen up as the meal went on (Lauren broke him DOWN!) and was very helpful in our dinner and wine selections. So, let's get to the FOOD, right?!

For the Antipasti course we had a couple of menu staples and a couple of seasonal specials. The staples: a selection of house-made salumi and the Warm Lamb’s Tongue Vinaigrette with Chanterelles and a 3-Minute Egg. The specials: Grilled Greenmarket Mix with Crostini and Fresh Ricotta and Fried Artichoke with Spinach and Ricotta Salata. Here is where we really got to experience the Mario magic-- flavors, textures, temperatures and presentations all coming together into a delicious symphony of tastiness! Wait, what? Anyway, the antipasti were really, really good. The salumi, which included a spicy salami and a proscuitto (details are escaping us here, unfortunately) were both excellent: delicate, refined flavors (although the proscuitto was a bit gamey). The salumi were served with deliciously grilled and oiled bread.

The grilled veggies dish was made of the most tender, adorable veggie babies-- teeny eggplants, strips of zucchini, and tiny tomatoes. They were just barely cooked, leaving plenty of texture and a little smoky taste. They were placed atop a crostino with the fresh ricotta, and the rich cheese worked perfectly with them.

The artichokes were also quite good: crunchy and fried, with the soft spinach and the sharp cheese on top of another delicious crostino. The freshness of the ingredients, especially in the vegetable dishes, was really noticeable.

And finally, saving the best for last, the lamb's tongue. Just wow. It was PACKED with flavor from the tongue, the vinaigrette, the mushrooms, and the egg. Plus there's the "interactive" aspect where you break open the perfectly cooked egg and mix the yolk with all the other components. This dish was a real winner and a lesson to those of you squirming out there: the "weird" dishes are sometimes the best!

Before...

Poached egg-breaking action shot

Next, Primi. In traditional Italian dining this is the pasta course, and so we were especially excited since Chef Batali is known as a pasta genius! EP and Lauren had tried his magic noodles (sidenote: is Magic Noodles a good name for a band? Discuss.) at Lupa a while back, but Xani and the rest of the crowd were eager for a taste. We ordered the Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage, a daily special of Black Tagliatelle with Roasted Fresh Corn and the Goose Liver Ravioli with Balsamic Vinegar and Brown Butter.

These dishes were... well, none of the adjectives on the helpful list BCD Dad sent us can describe the sheer heaven of Mario's pasta. A few that come close are: enchanting, breathtaking, remarkable, inimitable, and of course, highly highly enjoyable. The texture is really a huge part of how great the pasta is-- just cooked enough to have plenty of bite, not at all mushy or gummy, but not undercooked, either. Xani especially is particular about well-cooked pasta and she was completely impressed by these specimens. The taglietelle was the most delicately flavored-- the medium-thick black noodles (colored with squid ink) topped with fresh corn (carbs, anyone?) was really subtle but still delicious, and it earned our waiter points since he recommended it (off the tasting menu - it's like a secret!).

The mint love letters, a chowhound favorite, didn't disappoint-- the tomatoe-y lamb sausage sauce had quite of bit of kick to it, but the smooth pea and mint filling of the love letters cooled down the spice.

And of course, the goose liver ravioli. Once again, the offal takes the cake! The texture of the filling was rich but not heavy at all, and the flavor of the liver combined with the balsamic and brown butter sauce was just other-wordly. Like Mom's chopped chicken liver, but made in heaven by baby angels. Or something. All we know is it was damn good. We were sad the waiter took the platter away before we could sop up the remaining sauce with our bread, or possibly pass around the plate so everyone could get a lick...

Next up: Secondi. We ordered a Hangar Steak with Parsnips and Caramelized Onions, Duck with Kumquats, and one of the specials of the day, an Olive-oil Poached Halibut with Tomato Water (forgive the formal descriptions; Mario doesn't post an updated menu on his website since it changes every day). The steak was yet another hit of the evening - perfectly cooked meat with caramelized onions so rich and sweet you wanted to fall out of the chair.

The duck was also fantastic. Both the leg and the breast were presented and they were crispy on the outside and moist and fatty on the inside. We love ze duck!

Last was the halibut, which was the disappointment of the evening (hey, there's gotta be a loser, right?). The fish was firm and well-cooked, but sort of paled in comparison to the other amazing dishes on the table.

Tomato water-pouring action shot

In addition to these secondi, our waiter suggested that we order a green vegetable as a side dish, and per his recommendation we ordered Broccoli Rabe with Garlic. This proved to be a wonderful choice since the vegetables were incredibly fresh and cooked to perfection. The leaves were tender but with a bit of crunch, and the whole roasted cloves of garlic added tons of flavor. This dish cut through all the rich main dishes and balanced out the entire course.

Finally: Dolci. All of the desserts looked so wonderful, and we were having a hell of a time deciding which to get. Finally we just said "eff it!" and ordered SIX desserts for the FIVE of us. We saved room for a reason, right?? We ended up ordering the Pistachio and Chocolate Semifreddo, the Biscotti and Cookie assortment, Profiteroles with Chocolate and Raspberry Sauce, Lemon Poundcake, Maple Cheesecake, and the Assortment of Gelati and Sorbetti. Where do we begin? Let's start at the bottom. The profiteroles were disappointing because the dough was not crunchy enough for our taste, and the raspberry sauce was too alcohol-y. Next was probably the semifreddo, which was good but not as good as some of the semifreddo's we've had in Baltimore.

Profiteroles

Semifreddo

In the middle of the pack was the biscotti and cookie assortment, which came with an espresso cup full of ice cream. The cookies were delicate and ornate, and quite scrumptious. Also in the middle was the lemon poundcake, which was soaked in lemon syrup (that's a good thing) but the accompanying chocolate whipped cream was a bit out of place.

Cookie and Biscotti Assortment

Lemon Poundcake

At the top were the gelati and sorbetti assortment, which had 7 different types of gelato and sorbet, all of which were absolutely fantastic! Flavors included: toasted coconut gelato, mango sorbet, lemon verbina sorbet, huckleberry sorbet, green apple sorbet, olive oil gelato, and pineapple sorbet. Probably the best one, however, was the maple cheesecake. It was creamy and maple-y and had a great crust to it and delicious caramel sauce all over the top. My computer might short out from all the drooling happening over here, so I'll just stop there.

What a spread!

The Winner!

One great thing about the dessert course was the fact that we each got long, thin spoons (like you would get for an ice cream sundae), so we could reach across the table and enjoy everyone's desserts! We ordered coffees, espressos, and lattes, and they brought out an adorable assortment of sugars and sweeteners, including ROCK CANDY on a stick!

Three and a half hours after we arrived, we emerged from Babbo, full and happy. It was a wonderful meal with great friends and family, and a great kick-off for the rest of our amazing (food-filled) weekend in The Big Apple!

Cheers!

More NYC (and Bmore) posts coming soon! Thanks for your patience - we hope it was worth the wait!

X & E

We're Practically Locals

by Xani

So by now most of your know that the BCD parents have relocated to Taylor's Island, MD, and are happily settling in to their new home, Blackacre. We've also mentioned, once or twice, that the kitchen at Blackacre is pretty freakin' awesome. But as of our second visit this past weekend, the kitchen had barely been used! In the craziness of moving, unpacking, etc., there just wasn't that much time for cooking. All that was about to change...

EP and I headed down to Blackacre on Saturday morning, and stopped at Emily's Produce, one of a handful of farm stands on the Eastern shore to pick up some fresh veggies to serve at dinner, while BCD Mom and Dad promised to pick up the main course and dessert. This was July 19, which was coincidentally the first day of Maryland's Buy Local Challenge! Emily's farm stand had all kinds of delicious looking produce grown only yards away-- tomatoes, corn, green and yellow beans, blackberries, cherries, and more. They also had a variety of freshly baked fruit pies, jarred preserves and salsas, etc. (Note to future visitors to Blackacre: stop here and bring us treats!) We picked up some great looking green beans and corn for a fraction of the price we pay at the regular grocery stores.

Later that evening, after frolicking with Gellie in the water, and doing some manual labor, it was time to deflower the new kitchen! Mom and Dad had picked up some very fresh and very local steamer clams and rockfish fillets from Kool Ice Seafood (also THE place to go in Cambridge if you need up to 33,000 pounds of ice. Which you might. It's THAT hot out), and a half a peach praline pie from Emily's! We planned the menu as follows:

Champagne!

Steamed Clams with broth and melted butter

Green Bean Salad

Corn on the Cob

Pan-fried herb crusted Rockfish Filets

Peach praline pie

First we prepared the green bean salad so it would have time to marinate. We used this recipe, which called for us to blanch and chill the beans, then mix with minced ginger, garlic, sliced green onions (didn't have any-- used shallots instead), cilantro and a little oil and rice vinegar. We also made some soy-glazed almonds (toast almonds in pan, add soy, cook until liquid evaporates) but they ended up being SO salty that we didn't put them on the salad. No great loss.

Dad uses a big cleaver for big garlic and ginger flavor

too salty-- too bad

The steamers were easy: just place clams in a pot with a little bit of boiling water-- steam until they open up, remove from pot, serve with melted butter and mugs of the "broth" (the steaming water plus the flavor-rich liquid the clams release). Eating these can be a little tricky at first, but its nowhere near as tough as picking crabs! After you've eaten all the clams, you can dump your leftover melted butter into the clam broth and drink it (slowly, there could be sand on the bottom)-- delicious. Those New Englanders know whats up... even if they do talk funny.

Next we prepared the main dish and the corn. The corn we just boiled up, but the fish needed a little extra preparation. First, we found a recipe online that sounded yummy. The BCD family doesn't have a ton of experience with cooking straight-up fish. Shellfish of all types and sizes? Yes. But fish-fish? Not so much. Luckily this recipe was pretty straightforward. EP made the crust with crushed up UTZ potato chips (also local!), parsley and tarragon and I whipped up an egg white and some mustard-- this went onto the fish to get the crust to stick better. Observe:

We love UTZ!

Once the fish was coated on both sides, into the pan it went! This is where the new stove really showed its strengths: there was space for the big pasta pot (which was cooking the corn) and the big frying pan, with plenty of room leftover. Also, the powerful hood quickly disposed of any fishy smells. Once a fillet was nicely browned on both sides, I set it on a tray, topped it with a dab of butter and a squeeze of lemon, and covered with foil while I cooked the others. Finally all was ready and it was time to eat!

Our first home-cooked meal in the new house was... awesome! The fish was really a big hit. I was pretty nervous about cooking it, not having much experience and knowing that fish is not that forgiving. Bad fish is BAD-- but this was great! Really moist, not fishy-tasting at all, and the crust was light and crispy. The corn was sweet and very fresh-tasting, and the green bean salad was a knock-out! I will be making this salad again and again-- it was packed with flavor from the garlic and ginger, a little sweetness from the rice vinegar, and plenty of crunch from the barely cooked beans. It was too bad those almonds were a bust-- I'll know to skip that whole step next time.

For dinner we enjoyed the delicious Peach Praline pie from Emily's-- no pictures but trust me, it was excellent. The next morning we used the kitchen again to whip up some of Dad's famous omelets (with curry vegetable filling-YUM) and then quit cooking for the rest of the trip. It was another great visit with great weather-- but we think Gellie had the most fun of all!

Don' forget, Buy Local Challenge is on until Saturday!

X

Victoria's My Middle Name!

by Erin

While we are sad that the BCD parents have left our childhood home for greener (sandier?) pastures (ps. first meal in the new kitchen post coming soon!), we often criticize our hometown, Columbia, MD, as being a "culinary wasteland." One of the few exceptions to this rule is Victoria Gastro Pub, a relatively new restaurant with wonderful food and a wonderful vibe.


Xani and I both happened to be in Columbia last week running various errands independently, so we decided to meet up for dinner at Victoria. We wanted to sit at the bar since they have truffle parmesan popcorn and fried oysters on the bar menu, but it was full with some private event, so to the dining room we went. (We unfortunately found out that the bar menu is not served in the dining room - that's a tip for the future!)

This was the second time I had been to Victoria (the first time, Xani and I took Mom for Mother's Day lunch), and both times I've been, our waiter has been the same guy: my old friend Alex! I had heard that Alex was a waiter there, but it was by pure coincidence that the two times I went there, Alex was working, and we were seated in his section! Alex and I went to high school together (go Golden Bears!). You might remember us from such productions as 42nd Street and Fiddler on the Roof. Alex was the rabbi; I was Hodel. Anyway, we were very close in high school and it was great to see him and relive the good ol' days. (Note that Xani limited our reminiscing to about 5 minutes; I needed to focus on the menu!)

Anyway, onto the food! We each ordered a glass of Hoegaarden to start off the meal. Then, we ordered the soup of the day (that sounds good, I'll have that), which was a Vichyssoise, a classic French cold soup made with leeks, potatoes, and lots of cream. Mmm mmm good. The soup had a nice texture and good, delicate flavor.

Drinks!



Blurry Vichyssoise

For our next course, we had one of the house specialties: the duck fat fries, served with roasted garlic aioli and truffle sea salt. These were EXCELLENT! They were like boardwalk fries but classed WAY up. (We ordered these the first time we came too; the pictures turned out way better, so we used those.)

We also enjoyed the Prince Edward Island Mussels, made with Hoegaarden, garlic, cilantro, orange peel, and chile de arbol. These were also quite good and were served with several pieces of grilled, buttery bread for the irresistable dipping that goes along with eating mussels.

Mussels and delicious bread - what could be better?

The last thing we ordered was the Cuban Sandwich, which was made with pulled Duroc pork, mango mojo, blackforest ham, and gruyere on sourdough bread and served with yucca fries. It should be noted that this was not your traditional Cuban sandwich (it was not pressed flat and I did not detect any pickles or mustard), however, this was a really delicious sandwich. The salty meats played wonderfully off of the sweet mango, and the yucca fries were awesome! Some of the best yucca fries I've had in a long time. We were really full by the time we got to this sandwich, but I'd like to think that we were still able to appreciate its finer points.

Cuban and Yucca Fries



Gratuitous (but blurry) close-up of the fries

It was a delicious meal at Victoria, and Alex did a wonderful job (he is quite the beer afficionado). Thanks, Alex, for a great time, and we'll be seeing you soon! Next time, however, I hope to sit in the bar so I can get my hands on some of that popcorn!

Cheers,
Erin Victoria

ps. We didn't have dessert this time, but we did the first time with BCD Mom, and they were beautiful AND delicious:

Gelato & Cookie Trio: Hazelnut, Espresso, Chocolate



Chocolate Praline Cake

Moving Day=Pizza and Beer, Right? Oh, We Don't Roll Like That...

by Erin and Xani

They have arrived!!

As some of you may know, last week, the BCD parents moved from our childhood home in Columbia, MD to Taylors Island, MD, located on the Eastern Shore about 25 minutes from Cambridge. The move was traumatic and certainly a pain in the ass, but the new house is SICK (that's a good thing, Mom) so it's totally worth it.

As soon as the weekend hit, we hopped in the car and made the almost-2 hour drive out to the new house to help unpack and built lots and lots of Ikea furniture. As a reward for our hard work and not messing up the Ikea furniture too badly (e.g., "um, why do we have an extra one of these screws??"), the BCD parents took us out to dinner at Bistro Poplar.
Bistro Poplar is a classic French bistro in the heart of historic Cambridge, MD, and Mom and Dad heard about it from one of their new neighbors, or the builder, or somebody. That's how living in a small town works, apparently. Everyone likes to talk to one another! Weird!

First of all, Bistro Poplar is an adorable place. It's small (reservations strongly recommended) but with high ceilings and cheery colors all around. The bar along the back wall looks like a great place to stop in for a drink. But of course, we were there for more than just drinks!

We sat down and were greeted by our server Dana, who proved to be a wonderful guide through both the food and the wine. Before we even took a look at the menu, we of course started with a round of cocktails (all that furniture building builds a powerful thirst!). Dad got a Hendrick's extra-dry martini with a twist and olives on the side (sheesh), Xani got an extra-dirty Grey Goose martini, Mom got a Cosmopolitan (ironic for a lady who's just moved to the boondocks), and EP ordered a Tom Collins. The Tom Collins was pretty strong and Dana noticed that EP wasn't drinking her drink very fast, so she brought her some extra club soda to take some of the edge off - very attentive service.

Then we made our selections for our first and second courses. As you will see, we had some pretty eclectic choices (big shocker there), and Dana suggested several excellent white wines for us to enjoy throughout the evening.

For our first course, we ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab Hash and Beurre Monté, Lamb Tongue and Frisée with Fingerling Potatoes and Warm Mustard Vinaigrette, Sauteed Sweetbreads with Swiss Chard and Bacon Sauce, and the special of the day, Escargots.

As per our tradition, we love to try everything so we eat approximately 1/4 of the dish (if you can hold yourself back), and then pass to the person on the right. I'm sure we look pretty strange but that's how we do!

Anyway, almost everything we had was absolutely fantastic. The fried green tomatoes had a wonderful cornmeal crust and the crab hash was deliciously creamy with bits of fried up potatoes. Yum! The sweetbreads were also quite tasty, with a crisp exterior and that "chicken nugget-ness" that a certain winner of Top Chef once mentioned, plus the swiss chard and bacon sauce were wonderful compliments. And hello, bacon sauce?? Need we say more?

Fried Green Tomatoes



Sweetbreads!

The escargots were also absolutely delicious and were served removed from their shells with a super-garlicky butter sauce, and the best part was that each one had a little puff pastry hat! The pastry added a little bit of crunch to the bite, and we all agreed that we had never seen escargots served that way (or nearly as cute!). The plate came with 6 little snails, and we each had one, and then we played rock-paper-scissors to determine who would get the other two. That's how good they were.

Escargots! With hats!

The only disappointment was the lamb tongue salad. The lamb tongue was in a sausage form, and it must have had a very delicate, mild flavor because it was pretty much overpowered by the flavor of the mustard vinaigrette, unfortunately. Ah well, 3/4 ain't bad!

Lamb Tongue Frisee Salad

Next came our main dishes. We ordered Boudin Blanc with Prunes and Pomme Purée, Bison with Lyonnaise Potatoes and Red Wine Jus, Gnocchi Parisienne with Local Vegetables, and Grouper with Summer Squash and Lime Beurre Monté.

The Boudin Blanc was one of our favorite dishes. It was a white sausage made from chicken and pork, seasoned very well, and served with wonderful whipped up potatoes and sweet prunes, which cut through all the rich heaviness of the sausage and potatoes. This was a very unique dish that neither of us had had before, and it was really well-balanced and hearty.

Next, we loved the gnocchi, which were not traditional Italian-style gnocchi, but rather they were little potato balls that had been pan-fried a bit to get a bit of a crust on one side, and they were served with tiny yellow pear-shaped tomatoes, grown locally we presume. The gnocchi wereperfectly light and not gummy at all, and seasoned with lots of herbs, including a few deep fried sage leaves. Fantastic!

The bison had great flavor and was perfectly cooked, though as a lean meat it was not overly tender and there was some gristle to work around. The "lyonnaise potatoes" were a mixture of potatoes and fennel, and it was a really delicious, very well-seasoned side dish that may have outshone the headliner.

Last we had the grouper, which was, like the lamb tongue salad, kind of bland and not that exciting. Still, the other dishes were quite good, and we were so enamored with them we didn't mind passing the grouper around the table.

Finally, it was time for dessert! We ordered three different desserts: Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce, Berry Tart with a Chocolate Almond Crust, and Cheesecake with Fresh Berries and a Pistachio Graham Crust. Xani and Dad ordered espressos; Erin and Mom ordered coffees. Dad also ordered some Calvados to finish of the meal.

Coffee and yes, more booze

The profiteroles were made with traditional pâte à choux dough, which creates great big holes from air pockets when it is baked, and then the profiteroles (or cream puffs) are filled with pastry cream or in our case, ice cream! Dana did a table side presentation where she drizzled the bittersweet chocolate sauce all over them - it was hard to sit still.

Chocolate drizzle action shot

The berry tart was light and the berry and chocolate flavors worked perfectly together. The cheesecake was also a great hit and we were very pleased with everything in the dessert course.

Berry Tart

Cheesecake

It was a wonderful meal to welcome the BCD parents to the shore, and I'm sure we'll come back to Bistro Poplar again soon. They have a late-night dining menu that looks pretty great, and they are open until 11, which is BIG TIME out there!

Congrats on the new house, Mom and Dad! We'll be visiting often!

E & X

A New Wednesday Night Tradition?

by Xani

Man, we are really working our way through the list these days! Last week I was able to have dinner with a friend over at The Kitchen at Peter's Inn, in Fells Point. I've been meaning to get there forever but it just never happened until last Wednesday, which also happens to be their half-priced wine night! Hooray!

After a couple of frosty cocktails at the bar (frosty is key in these days of 90+ temperatures, humidity and daily thunderstorms, especially when your house that you JUST BOUGHT has non-functioning air conditioning!!) we snagged a table in the tiny dining room, which was filling up fast. The waiter brought over a whole carafe of ice water with a chunk of watermelon floating in it-- lovely! (Little known fact: in addition to cold alcoholic drinks, water can be refreshing on a hot day, as well. Who knew?)

That's watermelon in there...

Peter's changes its menus weekly and posts that week's offerings on its website, so we arrived with an dining plan in mind. Roasted beets and chickpea fritters plus an order of garlic bread to start, then for the mains, shrimp with cheesy grits and the duck leg confit, served over black lentils, with an adorable fried quail egg perched on top!

Beets and Chickpea fritters

Garlicky goodness

The starters were excellent: slightly sweet, earthy, cold beets paired with crispy fried falafels and a tangy yogurt sauce (well, pretty sure it was yogurt, but we definitely had a short discussion over whether it had a slight mayonnaise taste? sour cream? maybe it was greek yogurt? Screw it, let's drink some more wine.) The garlic bread was, as promised, off the chain. And this is coming from a garlic bread snob. It was really garlicky, buttery and crunchy. It didn't quite beat BCD Dad's version, but I'm pretty sure he puts crack in his.

Duck Leg Confit and the WORST picture I have ever taken.

Did I mention its dark at Peter's? Good for atmosphere, not so much for photography

Where's the head?

The mains were also quite tasty. The duck leg confit had really great, crispy duck skin, although the meat itself was slightly dry. The lentils were very good, and the fried quail egg was a nice touch-- I wanted to save it until the end, it was that cute! The shrimp and grits was the real winner though-- perfectly cooked LARGE shrimps over reeeeaaalllly cheesy grits with excellent texture. If I had to change one thing I would ask for them to leave the shrimp heads ON! Seriously people, shrimp heads are delicious. I think I'm going to start a whole shrimp head movement, and be recognized for the genius I am.

For dessert we enjoyed.... more cocktails. Hey, it's HOT out! It was a lively scene at Peter's, even though it was getting late, so after lingering for a while we finally gave up our table and headed out into the night. Now I've gotten into the habit of checking the menu online to see what tasty offerings are available... this week's trio of tartares (1. beef tartare 2.beet and jicama tartare 3.tuna tartare) is calling my name-- and whaddya know, it's Wednesday again!

X